While I-45 may become a headache, the Loop/290 interchange will soon be easier

Published 5:48 pm, Thursday, May 18, 2017

Photo: Steve Gonzales, Staff

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Traffic backs up along Loop 610 northbound near the U.S. 290 interchange on May 17. A new ramp opening sometime before 5 a.m. on May 22 will address some of the weaving common as commuters jockey for position to access the freeways. Continue clicking to see the planned and ongoing road construction projects around the Houston area. less

Traffic backs up along Loop 610 northbound near the U.S. 290 interchange on May 17. A new ramp opening sometime before 5 a.m. on May 22 will address some of the weaving common as commuters jockey for position ... more

While I-45 may become a headache, the Loop/290 interchange will soon be easier

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It seems like every time one Houston freeway is completed, another one goes under construction and, regrettably, this article will add to that theory.

This weekend, as the U.S. 290/610 Loop interchange opens to drivers, portions of I-45 are being completely closed.

On Friday, May 19 at 9 p.m., all northbound lanes of the freeway from FM 518 to El Dorado Boulevard will be closed until they reopen on Monday, May 22 at 5 a.m. Story continues below.

Work continues on the interchange of Loop 610 and U.S. 290

Media: Dug Begley / chron.com

Drivers traveling north will need to exit the freeway at FM 518 and use the frontage road to head to El Dorado. Anyone wishing to go to Baybrook Mall this weekend might want to think otherwise or plan for delays.

There is also work being done in the League City area, with alternate northbound and southbound lanes closed nightly from FM 517 to Highway 96.

The good news is, the 290/Loop interchange on the northwest side of Houston is nearly finished.

Access from Loop 610 to U.S. 290 will be reduced starting Saturday at 7 p.m. until Monday at 5 a.m. or until the work is complete. I-10 will be completely cut off from Loop 610 and U.S. 290 until the work is completed.

In other words, by Monday, May 22, the 290/Loop interchange will be open and relief on the traffic nightmare Houstonians have seen for the past six years will come.

These two projects are among the few that are on the lengthy list of Houston's infrastructure officials. Click through the gallery above to see the planned road construction in the Houston area, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.